Gmarket Korea haul April 2013

My last Gnarket haul was in Sep 2012 (which makes it a whopping 7 months - I've lost my original Gold membership grade and have been levelled down to "New"!). Actually this time round, the haul was initially inspired by DD. We spotted child watercolor crayons used by our Taiwanese friends' DD and asked about them. Mr Effort was impressed by them and I told him that I could order it online. 

For once, my online shopping skills were tested to the maximum. With only 2 photos of the crayons (the box had no English words except "Made in Korea"), no brand name (not even in Korean), I had to seek them through Gmarket Korea. 

But I did it! Although the crayon seller wasn't the cheapest and there was a delivery charge, it was the one of 2 sellers that I found that had the crayons sold in 24 pcs in stock. Unfortunately, one of the 2 pieces I ordered came cracked despite being wrapped in bubble wrap. My Korean failed me in other ways (read on).

I also decided to order skincare samples, Peripera lip items and CC cream from Banila Co since I was ordering from Gmarket Korea anyway.  

Haul (excludes items from skincare samples seller)

I ordered skincare samples to address hydration issues. Alas, my ability to pair Korean characters failed me (Hera aquabolic emulsion for normal-dry skin was delivered instead the normal-oily skin I wanted). I also ordered a Tony Moly lip tint (4,500 kwon) and a Tony Moly Lip Balm Bunny (4,500 kwon) since the seller sold selected Tony Moly items. 

So for 6,900 kwon each (original price 7,000 kwon, seller had store discount of 100 kwon), I received

1) su:m37 Water full moisturing gel cream (20 sachet pcs)

2) su:m37 Water full essence (20 sachet pcs)

3) Hera Aquabolic serum (5ml X 7 pcs)

4) Hera Aquabolic emulsion (normal-oily skin) (5ml X 25 pcs)

Banila Co (items on the white paper on the right are freebies!)

Peripera lip (the middle tube is actually a ballpoint pen!)

Have already reviewed Peripera Peri's Tint Jelly here and will post other reviews after using them.

Kids shoe shopping: Mini Melissa Campana Zigzag Mary Jane Flats

Saks Fifth Avenue recently ran a free shipping to Singapore promotion and I took the chance to order some clothes for DD and Mr effort.

I saw that the Mini Melissa Campana Zigzag Mary Jane Flats were on offer (S$36/-) and possible to ship to Singapore and I took the chance to buy them! I was a bit weary of the Crocs type of jelly/rubber shoes and the Mini Melissas I saw in the stores had decent flat soles suitable for children.

I selected size 8 as she currently wears size 6.5 for Clarks, thinking it would be perfect when she grows out of her current pair of shoes and her size 7 next pair of shoes (If you're like me, you would have shoes in the next immediate size in the cupboard, waiting for the exact minute you realise your child no longer fits into her current shoes. Makes no sense? You're not a parent addicted to online shopping).

When they arrived, I was surprised at the size.

Left to right: Bubblegummers Hello Kitty sneakers (Japan size 15.0), Crocs (size C6/7), Mini Melissa (size 8), Clarks Mary Janes (size 6.5)

Mini Melissa size USA 8, European 24, Brazil 22, Japan 14

You can tell from first glance that the Mini Melissa is shorter in length than the other shoes. However, when I tried them on DD and stuck my finger in at the back of her heel to see how much the gap was, I was pleasantly surprised that there was more space for the Mini Melissa than for her current Clarks. My guess was that the Mini Melissa is a UK size 7, which proved correct when I visited the kids shoe size guide for Saks Fifth Avenue website

I had purchased a pair of sneakers from Pumpkin Patch at a mall atrium sale and they were in size 8. Check out the difference in length for the 2 pairs (both of them are technically size 8 - although by different countries' sizing!)

Am pleased with the purchase overall as DD can still fit into the Mini Melissa (although not as long as I had hoped) but I will remember in future that kids' shoe sizes are the same as adults - UK and USA sizes differ!

Sidenote: It's been 5 days since I've received the shoes and have placed them in a well-ventilated area. But I can still smell the shoes (other Internet bloggers call it the bubblegum smell). Am just a little concerned about the volatile compounds which are being released.

Disclaimer: I did not receive any payment or payment in kind for writing this blog post. Any opinions mentioned are my own.

Koji Takako Lip Gloss

I bought a Koji Takako Lip Gloss, shade: Kiss Chocolat online while I was in Taiwan.

Takako is actually a famous Japanese makeup artist who has several makeup books under her belt. Koji had invested in a collaboration with Takako and followed up with a similar collaboration with Tsubasa Masuwaka, resulting in the brand Dolly Wink. Despite it being Koji's second venture into cosmetics and its relative higher price point for a drugstore line, Dolly Wink has been a huge success in Asia, far exceeding the Takako line.

The lip gloss comes in 2 shades. I chose the Kiss Chocolat, a shade which appeared to have brown undertones. To admit it, I was attracted to the lip gloss mainly because of its spatula applicator.

Few lip glosses have such spatula applicators. Most of them come with the 'doefeet' applicator (which looks like a fuzzy wand), brush applicator or slanted opening. I personally favour spatula and brush applicators as they are easier to wipe off excess before returning to the tube and closing it. They even made the top part of the spatula pink compared to the body to reflect the lip gloss (vs Sony CP Lip Curvy Silicone which had a transparent spatula and white body).

The cap is printed with a lovely outlined design of a tower (possibly Tokyo Tower) along with lace outlines Although I am no fan of pink, the overall design of the lip gloss is pleasing. However, the lip gloss does not have a level bottom and is unable to stand by itself. The lip gloss itself is of a milky type, common in Japanese lip glosses and balms. The milky lip products typically include a 'lip concealer' aspect and allow the colour of your natural lips to be hidden as to best showcase the colour of the lip gloss. Think of it as opaque lip gloss.

Kiss Chocolat looks like pink with a brown undertone in the tube but shows up slightly more pink on me. I swatched it here and grabbed the nearest lip gloss I usually use for a natural look for a comparison (Josie Maran Argan Natural Volume Lip Gloss in Optimism). It doesn't feel sticky on me (compared to other lip glosses). I wore it during a 5-course dinner along with drinks and although I didn't expect the colour to last throughout dinner, there was still a stain of colour when I wiped my lips after dinner and my lips felt moisturised.

With flash

The opaque-ness of Takako lip gloss is clearly visible compared with Josie Maran's. The lip gloss is pure pink/brown with no shimmer nor glitter. I paid about S$8.22 (NTD199) for 7g of product but the indicated retail value is S$15.03 (1,200 yen). The packaging indicated that the lip gloss was made in Japan, but the date of manufacture was Jan 2011 (expiry date indicated: Jan 2016). I have serious doubts about any makeup products being able to last 4 years when unopened but the product is still good.

Disclaimer: I did not receive any payment or payment in kind for writing this blog post. Any opinions mentioned are my own.

Beauty shopping - country:Taiwan

It was 2009 when I headed to Taipei for a holiday with my sis alone, 2 of us, without the distraction of family or friends. I had started to get interested in makeup by that time and Taipei was an excellent choice to go beauty shopping! To add to the fuel, I had discovered PJ's blog and more importantly, the beauty city guide on Taipei.

In a way, this blog post is a tribute to PJ's original post, the one which sparked it all off. Thanks, PJ!

I've decided to deviate from PJ's post format a little as I will be touching on some websites based in that country and how you can receive items as a tourist (as opposed to having a residential/ business address in the country).


Beauty shopping country: Taiwan
Cities/areas of reference: Taipei (mostly), Yilan, Hualien

Departmental stores in Taipei with extensive beauty departments:
1) Sogo Zhongxiao (closest mrt station: Zhongxiao Fuxing)
2) Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi (closest mrt station: Taipei City Hall). Do take note that Mitsukoshi Xinyi is split between 4 buildings (yes, 4 7-storey buildings!). Not all beauty brands are in each building, so please check the store directory before alighting from a taxi or starting to shop. But the buildings are linked together via sheltered walkways, so it is still fairly easy to get to the right building if you're looking for a particular brand in another building.
3) Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (closest mrt station: Taipei Main Station). This is in fact the original downtown Mitsukoshi (the Xinyi one is newer). If you're staying in the Ximending area or have decided not to venture to the Xinyi area for any reasons, you might want to check out this Mitsukoshi instead.


Countrywide
Drugstore chains in Taiwan (equivalent to USA's Walgreens/CVS and UK's Superdrug/Boots)
1) Watsons. This is, in fact, owned by a HK conglomerate and you will see Watsons stores everywhere in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and HK. In my Taipei post trip blog entry, I found a 24-hr Watsons in the Zhongxiao Dunhua area, which is excellent for time squeezed travellers.

Updated 4 April 2013: Looking through my Watsons Taiwan receipts and thinking back, Watsons must be the king of pricing in drugstores in Taiwan.

One particular visit had the following price promotions:
a) Buy minimum of NTD588 on drugstore makeup and get NTD100 off the bill immediately (strangely, the definition of drugstore makeup was brands like ZA, Majolica Majorica, Integrate, KATE, 1028 Cosmetics but did not apply to brands like Solone)
b) Buy 1 piece for selected makeup/ skincare products, get the 2nd piece at 38% off (I tried buying a skincare lotion and getting the skincare essence at 38% off but no go. Only the moisturiser, essence and night cream from that particular skincare line were on 38% off the 2nd piece. You really needed to see the fine print to figure out the promotion applied for which products)
c) If total spend in store exceeds NTD2000, receive NTD200 in Watsons store vouchers (to be used another day).

This includes promotions (a) and (b), so you could buy toothpaste/shampoos etc to make up the balance. Their inhouse sales system must be very advanced to be able to keep track of all these promotions and reflect them properly on the bill.

2) Sasa (actually a HK company. They have made serious inroads into Taiwan in the past 2 years).

3) Cosmed

4) Mirada. But most Mandarin-speakers in Taiwan will know them by "Mei Hua Tai" (Not technically a drugstore, and they only have stores in the Taipei area). But by golly, what stores they are!

They may be drugstore in appearances but some of the brands stocked at the stores can be as pricey as the ones in departmental stores. In fact, some of the bigger Watsons stores I have been have a 'store-in-store' concept where the same departmental brand have a sales rep there to serve you.


Websites (multi-label/brand cosmetics)
1) www.payeasy.com.tw. Ships products locally (Taiwan) within 5-7 working days if they have stock(but personal experience says better to allocate more time for their delivery). They can deliver products to a convenience store of your choice (if you decide not to give them your hotel/accommodation address). You do not need Taiwanese identification (ID) to buy from this site. Non-taiwanese credit cards are accepted. Also ships selected product lines at different pricing internationally.
2) www.jpmon.com. Ships products locally within 3 working days if they have stock. Like payeasy, they can deliver products to a convenience store of your choice. You do not need Taiwanese ID to buy from this site. Non-taiwanese credit cards are accepted. Also ships internationally.
3) Yahoo Taiwan shopping. Various sellers, various sellers' ratings. Typically the major sellers will deliver products to a convenience store but at an added delivery fee. You do not need Taiwanese ID to buy from this site.
* special mention: www.naruko.com.tw. This is by Robin Niu, possibly the most famous skincare guru in Taiwan. He is known in the media and by fans as "牛尔老师" or Teacher Niu Er.This web-shop holds all his skincare lines; ampm, Naruko and NRK. Ships products locally within 4 working days if they have stock (but their website says longer). They can deliver products to a convenience store of your choice. You do not need Taiwanese ID to buy from this site. It is far easier to buy his products online than to buy from Watsons (it's exclusive to Watsons). I went to several stores in Hualien, Yilan and Taipei but did not manage to find the full range of his products anywhere. In the end, I gave up and ordered online. 


I have not included some web-shops as you need to have a Taiwanese identification number as part of the registration and verification process. As travellers, it could be difficult to order items online knowing that you will not know your room number at the hotel before checking into the hotel.

The Taiwanese online shopping experience takes this uncertainty away! I have picked up items from the convenience stores before and typically, the items are either stored behind the cashier or in a locked cupboard with the key only held by the staff. The staff would also typically ask you for your full name and contact number as a cross-check before releasing the products. I have found online shopping to be a joy in Taiwan and a boon for time-scarce travellers!

If you have any questions, do let me know and I will try my best to answer them.